Virus
by Marlenerocks
Summary: Marlene and Antonio were bored one night, so they decided to gather up the zoo and play a game of "Virus"!
1. Chapter 1

Marlene and Antonio lay in the grass, staring at the wonderful colors of the sunset. The sight was beautiful, but it was going to end soon, and the two otters were wide awake. Marlene turned to Antonio.

"What do you want to do after this?" Marlene queried. Antonio glanced back at her.

"I don't know," Antonio replied. Suddenly, Marlene jumped to her feet.

"I know! We should play Virus!" She suggested. Antonio stood up next to her.

"Virus?" he repeated. She nodded.

"Yeah! Want to see if the whole zoo wants to play? I'll explain how you play it later." Marlene started to walk over to the penguins' HQ.

"Sure!" Antonio followed her.

"Virus? A game? Sorry, we're to busy to play games." Skipper snapped. Marlene and Antonio had asked the penguins, but Skipper said no.

"Come on, Skipper! It'll be really fun!" Marlene pleaded. Skipper crossed his wings.

"No!"

"Wait, Marlene, how do you play it?" Private asked.

"Well, it's the opposite of tag. One animal counts to 30, and all the other animals hide. Then the animal who counted goes around and tags the other animals. Which ever animal is tagged is also it. The last animal to catch the 'Virus' wins. But the first animal to get tagged is it the next game." Marlene explained. Private grinned. Kowalski put his wings next to his face and smiled. Rico danced around the room. Skipper glared at the two otters.

"Sorry Marlene, but we're to busy to play 'Virus'." Skipper turned to the other three penguins. "Isn't that right, boys?" But when he looked at them, they were all staring at their feet with sad expressions of their face. Skipper rolled his eyes. "Come on, men!" They didn't change.

"Skipper, you better let them play," Antonio said. Skipper turned to him.

"We don't take orders from you!" Skipper sneered. Suddenly Private waddled up to Skipper, smiling.

"Skippah, this can be great practice!" Private exclaimed.

"Huh?" Skipper asked.

"Think about it! One of us gets tagged, they get the 'Virus' and turn on us!" Private said. Skipper smiled.

"Yes! Good thinking Private! This can be practice on, 'What to do if one of us turns on each other!' Way to go! That's it, boys, we're playing!" Skipper announced. Every cheered.

"Virus!" Rico squealed.

"YES MOMMA, WE'RE PLAYING A GAME!" Kowalski screamed. Everything went quiet and everyone stared at him. He chuckled. "Um, heh heh…"

"Okay, Skipper, go tell the zoo!" Marlene ordered him. Suddenly the penguins left their HQ, along with the otters.

"Okay, so you all know how to play this, right?" Marlene yelled. Everyone nodded. They had gathered all the animals in the zoo that wanted to play, which included Marlene, Antonio, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private, King Julien, Maurice, Mort, Tasha, Cori, Toby, Sahara, Hisser, Max, Ktika, Jason, and Savio. "Okay, now with the rules. Some of these rules may only go for a few of you. Now," she turned to Rico, "no vomiting up special weapons that might help you win. Next," she turned to Kitka, "no flying! You can hover above the ground, but you have to make sure every animal can reach you. And," she turned to Savio, "No strangling or eating animals, no exceptions! Okay, and no hurting each other! This is a fair game! And the last and most important rule… HAVE FUN! Also, who wants to be it first?"

"I'll be it," Jason the wolverine raised his paw. Marlene pointed at him.

"Okay, Jason, you're it. Remember, count to 30, and no peeking! You have to count at that sidewalk light over there. Also, you all have to stay inside the zoo! And cover your eyes, Jason, so we know you're not cheating. Okay, go!" Marlene exclaimed. Jason covered his eyes and started to count while everyone hid. Marlene was so excited! She was going to play Virus with the zoo!


	2. Chapter 2

Marlene glanced at the sky. It was black, with many stars and a big moon.

"7, 8, 9," Jason counted. Marlene grabbed Antonio's hand and hid behind a trashcan.

"15, 16, 17," Marlene heard Jason say. The two otters could hear the other animals scurrying around to their hiding spots.

"28, 29, 30!" Jason whipped around, sniffing the air. Marlene and Antonio pressed against the wall, not moving a muscle.

Jason crept down the sidewalk, looking for animals he could tag.

"We all run when I say so, okay?" King Julien said. Tasha, Maurice and Mort nodded. "Okay-"

Suddenly, Jason seized Mort. Mort giggled.

"I've got 'Virus'! Ha ha ha!" Mort laughed. King Julien turned to Tasha and Maurice.

"Now RUN!" King Julien yelled, and started to run. His girlfriend, Tasha the ruffed lemur and Maurice raced after him. Jason dropped Mort and the two went their separate ways.

The penguins hid behind their habitat.

"When I say go, we all do the belly slide." Skipper ordered. The other three penguins nodded.

Toby the black-footed ferret stood next to a bench, shaking. He didn't want to be tagged, especially if Hisser tagged him. He shuddered. If she did tag him, she would rip his insides out and laugh. Toby shook his head. Marlene would protect him. He knew she loved him. She just hadn't found out who her true love was yet. A grin crossed his face. _Me,_ he thought. _I'm her true love!_

"VIRUS!" A voice squealed. Toby whipped around to see the mouse lemur. Mort hit him in the face and knocked him to the ground. "You've got 'Virus'!" Then he stood up and ran away. Toby rubbed his head and grimaced at the little lemur. _Next round I'll have better luck,_ he thought to himself.

Savio was wrapped around a sidewalk light. It wasn't a very good spot, but he had wasted time thinking about where to hide that when Jason said 30 he was left by the sidewalk light. All he could do was wrap himself around it and hope that no one would see him.

"Hey, hey you!" A voice snapped. Savio swiveled his head to see Burt the elephant.

"Oh, hi Burt," Savio greeted. Burt glared at him.

"You ate my friends, you're gonna pay!" Burt sneered. Savio palmed his face with the end of his tail.

"Look, they're better now, and they forgive me." Savio replied. Burt kept his cold, hard stare on the boa.

"You better wish!" Burt said harshly. Savio sighed.

"Just promise to keep quiet, okay?" Savio pleaded. Burt rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll be quiet, but don't think this ends anything!" Burt stomped away angrily.

Without warning, Mort climbed onto Savio's head and poked him.

"You've got 'Virus' too! Ha ha ha!" Mort yelped then slid down Savio and raced away.

"Thanks a lot Burt!" Savio hissed.

Skipper looked both ways, and saw Jason heading towards them.

"Go, boys!" Skipper yelled and pointed the way. They all slid on their bellies and followed Skipper.

"Yay! We escaped Jason!" Private cheered in his British accent.

"Just barely, but-AHHH!" Kowalski started, but suddenly vanished in a flash of snakeskin.

"Not my options guy!" Skipper wailed.

"Skippah, Savio's got 'em!" Private pointed at Savio, who had his tail wrapped around Kowalski. Kowalski glared at them.

"Imma get you!" Kowlaski exclaimed, followed by an evil laughed. The penguins stared at him.

"Weird…" Rico murmured.

Marlene squeezed Antonio's arm tightly.

"Oh my gosh, Antonio, we haven't even been spotted yet! We're so good at this game!" Marlene whispered. Antonio turned and kissed her quickly. She blushed.

"You know, we should really do this more often." Antonio replied.

"What?"

"Jugar and pasar algunos solo tiempo juntos." Antonio said in fluent Spanish.

"Aw, we should!" Marlene grinned, but suddenly, they heard a noise…


	3. Chapter 3

Marlene and Antonio whipped around to see Toby. He waved his hand at Marlene.

"Hi!" Toby said. Marlene let go of Antonio.

"Are you it?"

"Yeah."

"Then why aren't you chasing us?"

"I am."

"Let me guess, you're trying to get me."

"Uh, yeah."

"See ya!"

Marlene and Antonio ran away from him. Toby raced after them.

"Wait! Wait for me! Marlene!" He stopped running after them. "Marlene! I'm your true love…" His voice trailed off. Then he flattened his ears and crossed his arms. "Hmph!"

"She hates you, Toby," a voice mocked. Toby turned to see Hisser and Max.

"Shut up Hisser! This is only funny for one of us!" Toby spat back. Hisser rolled her eyes.

"Well, you know what? You smell like a goat's behind!" Hisser retorted. Toby turned his hands into balls of fists.

"You have pimples on your butt!" Toby teased back. Hisser glared at him. "I'm sorry! I lied!" Hisser started to walk forward. "Stay back! I'm warning you!" She kept her hard stare on him. "HISSER!" Without warning, he leapt forward and touched her. "Hey, I did it, I got you! You're it! Ha ha!"

Hisser stepped back and let out a low growl. Toby grinned nervously then sped away. Max shuddered.

"So, you're gonna get me, right?" Max queried. Hisser nodded and smirked. Max then scurried away. Hisser laughed.

Kitka sat on top of a bench, scanning the area. _Clear!_ she thought to herself. She took off, but only hovered a few feet off the ground.

"KITKAAAAA!" Kitka stopped and hid behind a popcorn machine. She poked her head out, looked both ways, but it was too late. She felt herself hit the ground, the thing pinning her. Kitka rolled onto her back and stared at Hisser.

"Hisser! Uh, hi Hisser! I'm it, right?" Kitka asked her. Hisser nodded and got off of Kitka. Kitka stood up and preened her feathers. Hisser ran away and Kitka flew a separate way.

Cori the ring-tailed cat hugged her tail tightly. She was behind a trashcan. _What if they get me? I don't want to be it, I want to win! _She thought, worried. But suddenly she felt sharp claws hold her.

"OH MY GOD!" Cori wiggled free from the animal's grasp. "Darn it!" She stomped her foot. _I never win at anything! _

"Howdy, Cori," Jason waved his paw.

"Oh, hi Jason… Fun game, huh?" She winced. He nodded. "Well, I better go tag someone, alrighty then?" Jason nodded again, but this time, slower. "Uh, heh, heh, bye!"

"Okay then," Jason shrugged and padded away.

"Okay, we already lost Kowalski, let's not lose anyone else! Let's make it to the end!" Skipper raised a wing in the air.

"But Skippah, only one of us can make it to the end!" Private reminded him. Skipper put a wing over his beak.

"Well, then it certainly isn't going to be Kowalski," Skipper whispered. "May the best penguin win!" Skipper threw his wing up in the air again.

"VIRUS!" Rico squawked.

"Yay!" Private exclaimed.

Sahara the fennec fox pricked her ears. She was happy they were so cute. One, because they made her look cute, and two, she could hear really good. "I'm gonna WIN!"

"No, you aren't," a voice hissed. Sahara ironed her ears to her head.

"Huh?" without warning, she felt something wrap around her. She turned her head and stared into the eyes of Savio.

"Oh, Savio, hi, hi, um, ugh." Sahara growled. Savio stuck his tongue out at her.

"Looks like you forgot to use your other senses too!" Savio giggled then dropped her. She palmed her face. _I just made an idiot out of myself, _she scolded herself. _Oh well. I can use my hearing to tag other animals!_ Sahara grinned, and she ran away into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, so let's see, Jason, Sad-eyes, Savio, Hisser, Toby, Kowalski, Kitka, Cori, and Sahara all have the 'Virus'." Skipper counted. Rico and Private nodded.

"I'm so gonna try to win!" Private grinned.

"Growhla!" Rico replied.

"Surely the leader is going to win, it just works that way," Skipper said proudly. Private shrugged and Rico shook his head.

"Well, maybe you can screw up, and-" Private started, but Skipper squeezed his cheeks.

"A penguin never fails, unless they're Kowalski!" Skipper spat. Private nodded.

"But Skippah, sir, you have to remember this is just a game," Private replied. Skipper rubbed his head.

"But it's practice, and," Skipper thought about it for a moment.

"VIRUS!" Rico screeched, pointing behind Skipper.

"I know, it's the game we're playing," Skipper growled. Private's eyes widened.

"Look, Skippah, it's-" Private pointed at the thing behind Skipper too.

"Shh, I'm trying to think!" Skipper put a wing under his beak. "Hm…"

Suddenly, Hisser leapt forward, yowling. Skipper ducked, and Rico slid away, but Private didn't react fast enough and was caught. Hisser knocked him to the ground. Private screamed.

"He's just a boy!" Skipper wailed. Rico stood next to Skipper, gasping in horror. Hisser whipped around and glared at the Virus-free penguins. She stood up and a growl escaped her throat. "Okay, Bitsy, we can work things out…"

"Skippah!" Private shrieked. Hisser outstretched her claws and her gaze turned even more menacing. She hissed and jumped forward.

"RUN!" Skipper screamed. He and Rico sped away, leaving Hisser and Private in the dust.

Max appeared, and Hisser tagged him. He sighed.

Marlene hugged Antonio's arm as they crept along the habitat walls.

"I'm so excited! This game really gets your heart pumping, doesn't it?" Marlene queried. Antonio glanced down at her.

"Yes," he whispered. They were quiet for a second, and then they heard something moving around.

"I can hear something," she murmured. Antonio nodded. Before they could do anything, Kowalski leapt out of the darkness.

"HI-YA!" He yelled. Marlene screamed and ran the opposite way, but Kowalski hit Antonio. Marlene gasped.

"Antonio!" Marlene shrieked. Kowalski got up.

"Ya-ha! I got you! Yay! Yay, yay, yay! WOO-HOO!" Kowlaski danced around. Antonio stared at Marlene.

"I'm sorry, Marlene, but I'm going to get you!" Suddenly his gaze turned evil, and he got to his feet. Marlene screamed and sped away.

"Okay, so we've lost Mort, but who really cares, right? We still have Tasha!" King Julien kissed the girl lemur's hand. She giggled.

"Okay, King Julien, what do we do next?" Maurice asked. King Julien thought for a moment.

"Oh, we run when we see another animal." King Julien replied. They two other lemurs nodded.

"Hi guys!" A voice came. They looked over and saw Mort waving his tiny paw. The three lemurs let out blood-curdling screams and raced away.

"Run, like I said! Run away from Mort!" King Julien turned his head and expected to see Mort, but Kitka was gaining on them. "IT'S THE FALCON!" King Julien shrieked. Tasha ran faster, but Maurice was left behind. Kitka grabbed Maurice. Maurice screamed.

"She's got Maurice!" Tasha screamed. King Julien nodded.

"Yes, but at least I've got you!" King Julien wailed.

"Okay, so Maurice, Antonio, and Max have been captured," Skipper commented, "so that leaves, me, you, Marlene, Ring-tail and Tasha in the game." Rico clapped his wings together. "Now, we must stay really alert, as paranoid as possible, because you never know what's coming for you…" Skipper looked side to side, and Rico chuckled. "Antonio!" Skipper and Rico whipped around to see Antonio. He glared at them with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, hey, Skipper and Rico, enjoying the game so far?" Antonio queried.

"That's cute and naïve! Manfredi and Johnson were cute and naïve, and it got them killed!" Skipper spat. Antonio still stared at them with his penetrating green eyes.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Antonio asked.

"Everything else is classified! Besides, I've told you too much already!" Skipper sneered. Antonio nodded.

"Well then, I guess I'll-" he turned to leave, "-GET YOU!" Antonio turned around and leapt at them. Skipper and Rico jumped aside, and Antonio hit the ground. Suddenly, Cori appeared. She grabbed Rico.

"Gotcha!" Cori bragged.

"Ah! Skipper!" Rico shrieked, terrified. Skipper glanced at Cori with Rico in her hands, then at Antonio getting up off the ground, then at Sahara, moving in.

"See ya later, suckas!" Skipper yelled at them, then jumped onto the fence of Joey's cage. Joey had waken up from all the noise and was staring at Skipper.

"Aye! Get out of me habitat!" Joey threw a fist at Skipper, but Skipper jumped over it and slid away.

"Okay, they're closing in on us!" King Julien shivered.

"Who?" Tasha asked, before Savio appeared and wrapped himself around Tasha.

"No! Tasha!" King Julien stretched him arm out, screaming.

"King Julien!" Tasha screamed back.

"You can get her if you want," Savio hissed.

"I can?" King Julien jumped forward the noticed the trick. "Hey, I know what you're doing! You want me to get tagged, but I won't! I never will! NO!" King Julien turned around and ran away, screaming.

Marlene watched as Hisser moved forward. Marlene screamed and ran away. Suddenly, she felt herself hit two other bodies. She fell to the ground and opened her eyes. There she saw King Julien and Skipper.

"Oh, thank goodness it's you! I'm being chased after, and… you haven't been tagged, have you?" They shook their heads. "Good!"

Suddenly, they saw all the animals who had been tagged moving in on them.

"This way!" Skipper slid on his belly, Marlene and King Julien following him. "Whoops," Skipper and the two others stopped dead in their tracks. They had reached a corner. They turned around and saw all the other animals. They all screamed, Marlene and King Julien hugged Skipper, and Skipper had his wings around both of them. They animals moved in, chuckling and grinning. "Wait a second," Skipper smiled and jumped into the air. He sailed over the animals. Marlene did it next, then King Julien, but Savio caught the lemur.

"Looks like you were a little late on that one!" Savio teased. "They've got Julien!" Marlene pointed at King Julien in Savio's grasp.

"Right… this way, Marlene!" Skipper pointed toward the penguin habitat. He started to run and Marlene followed him.

"Skipper, look out!" Marlene screeched. Skipper gasped as Sahara jumped forward and grabbed him. Skipper screamed.

"I failed!" Skipper cried. Marlene nodded solemnly.

"Looks like it's just the otter left," Savio commented. Marlene grinned nervously and raced away. Suddenly, Private tackled her.

"Marlene! I got Marlene!" Private jumped up in the air. Everyone cheered for Marlene.

"Hey, I won!" Marlene stood up to and smiled.

"Congratulations!" Everyone said. Marlene smiled.

"Listen up everyone! All of you did great, no one broke the rules. Lots of you almost made it to the end, but only one of us made it first! And that was me!" Marlene cheered. Everyone yelled in either disappointment or agreement. "And Mort is it for the next round!"

"I got 'Virus'!" Mort announced to the animals sitting next to him.

"Marlene, I decided I'll play games with you, as long as they aren't kiddie games, like Halabalou," Skipper said. Marlene smirked.

"So, who's ready for another round?"


End file.
